Assorted titles, good and bad.

As much as we need comedies for boys, I have added a new item to my "Won't Buy if it Has..." list. Won't buy books wherein the boy names his, uh, distinctly male parts. *Sigh* Shades of Judy Blume's Forever. So, I won't be adding Garfinkle's Storky. Also will skip Stephenson's Dancing With Elvis, since it is very long, only vaguely interesting, and too much of a historical novel for a time period we don't cover. Waltman's Learning the Game had way too many instances of the f-word; why do baseball players not swear while basketball players do?
Thinking about Sedgewick's Witch Hill-- I wasn't sure, but my ten year old son liked it. Also got mixed reviews on Gates' Dusk, about a genetically modified girl who has hawk DNA and eats rats whole; there's a lot of adventure and running and fights, but something about it left me cold. Did really enjoy Nield's Plastic Angel, about a girl who forms a rock band with her best friend. The students love reading about bands, but so often the life style and language choices ruin the books for me. This one was intriguing and just fun-- my "pink" book readers will love it, but it will enjoy a wider circulation. Whew. Caught up for now!